Organizing a Housewarming Party: What to serve

As soon as you are settled in your new house, the odds are that you will want to display your pride and joy to the world and invite your friends to a housewarming party. Here are a few ideas to help ensure that your housewarming party is a success.

Essentials

It is usually best to start off by compiling a guest list; this will not only help determine the number of friends and family you will have attending, but if you send your friends personalized invitations they will usually make more of an effort to come and share your joy. The responses to your invitations will help you to determine how many vegetarians or vegans there will be and what other dietary requirements might need to be catered for, which will help in your food organization and menu planning. Don’t forget that children’s needs and wants may not always coincide with those of the adults, so if you have invited younger guests make certain that you take them into consideration when planning the menu.

Presentation

The easiest way to actually present the food and drinks at this type of party is to have a buffet. If you have planned to eat outside but rain quashes this idea, you will be able to easily move the food and drink inside. Round dining tables will help your guests circulate and provide a more informal setting for your party. Make sure you have plenty of napkins on hand to mop up any spills and also to prevent crumbs falling onto your precious new carpet.

Food

Many of us are increasingly concerned with our health, so serving a variety of dishes is always an excellent idea when it comes to providing foods that will appeal to all your guests. Italian salads with their inventive uses of vegetables are a wise choice, and you can always make a variety of dressings for different tastes. Try mozzarella and tomato with fresh basil sprinkled over the top for color, or a lentil and bean salad with a zesty lemon and garlic dressing. A Polish cucumber, yogurt, and mint dressing is also very refreshing.

Pizzas are an excellent idea; you can usually plan on a large pizza feeding between eight and ten people, especially if it is combined with a salad and other vegetables. If you are adventurous, why not try sushi; you can always cheat and buy it ready made from your local deli or supermarket.

Smoked salmon wraps filled with horseradish and cream cheese are filling and delicious; sprinkled with a little dill, these tasty treats also look pretty. Blinis covered with smoked salmon and cream cheese are also delicious. You can also consider arranging some cold cuts and produce on the buffet table, as well as some hot French bread or focaccia.

It is a good idea to label your foods; you can easily print out attractive little labels – or even a menu – on your computer. You want everyone to know exactly what they are eating so that they can be confident that all dietary requirements are being looked after.

Drink

Most people will have used their car to come to your party, so ensure that you have bottled water, lots of fruit juice, and possibly a homemade non-alcoholic punch for your guests. Wine is always welcome; estimate that one standard 75cl bottle will provide five to six glasses of wine. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic fruit punches are also very popular, and it is a good idea to have both on hand so that all needs are catered for.